Newsletter

Variety of cinematic dads worth re-watching, remembering on Father’s Day

Viggo Mortensen, center in red suit, delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as Ben Cash, a dad trying to maintain his late wife’s wishes while raising their six children to be fit, smart and off the technological grid in 2016’s “Captain Fantastic.” (Photo provided by Bleecker Street Films)

Gregory Peck plays southern, small town lawyer Atticus Finch in 1962 classic “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Atticus is seen with his children Scout (Mary Badham), left, and Jem (Phillip Alford). An older Scout narrates the picture. (Photo provided by Universal Pictures.)

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic “The Godfather” stars Marlon Brando, second from left, as Vito Corleone, a New York crime boss who believes that a man who is not a father to his children is no man at all. His sons are, from left, James Caan as Sonny, Al Pacino as Michael, and John Cazale as Fredo. (Photo provided by Paramount Pictures.)

Spencer Tracy, right, expresses a father’s worries and happiness as he walks his daughter, played by Elizabeth Taylor, down the aisle at her wedding in the 1950 picture “Father of the Bride.” (Photo provided by MGM.)

Man and wife Michael Keaton, right, and Nicole Kidman, rspectively, are about to become first-time parents in 1993 film “My Life.” When Keaton’s character, Bob, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he begins filming a series of home movies contining varied life lessons for his unborn son. (Provided by Columbia Pictures.)

Roberto Benigni delivers an Oscar-winning performance in the 1997 Italian film “Life Is Beautiful” as Guido, a father intent on fooling his young child (Giorgio Cantarini) into believing that they are playing a game, thus shielding him from the truth after they are imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. (Photo provided by Miramax Films.)

Robin Williams delivers yet another memorable performance in 1993 comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire,” portraying an estranged father so desperate to be near his children that he disguises himself as a much older British housekeeper. (Photo provided by Columbia Pictures.)

Annie Kinsella (played by Amy Madigan), center, supports the decision by her husband Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), left, to build a professional baseball diamond in the middle of their Iowa cornfield in 1989 film “Field of Dreams.” They become even more resolute after members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox arrive and a possible reconciliation emerges. (Photo provided by Tri-Star Pictures.)

Father’s Day was introduced in approximately 1910 as a holiday designed to celebrate fatherhood and the influence of fathers. When writing about “Father’s Day movies,” the positive is a preferred approach — that is, a sharing of the love, sacrifice, teachings and imperfections within memorable dads who became real on the big screen.

True, while considering dad movies, a number of less than fatherly fathers do come to mind. These films boast fine performances, but Father’s Day is not what viewers consider after watching, say, John Huston as the vile Noah Cross in Roman Polanski’s brilliant “Chinatown” from 1974 or Jack Torrance, the violent antagonist and father portrayed by Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s 1977 “The Shining.” And who can forget Robert Duvall as Bull Meechum, a cruel military dad in the 1979 adaptation of Pat Conroy’s “The Great Santini?”

So set all those bad dads aside. Instead, think about the following movie fathers, who left positive impressions in still viable films as we reach another Father’s Day. And just maybe, find time to watch a couple again today.

Here are 10 movies that deserve to be remembered on Father’s Day, listed in no particular order:

“To Kill a Mockingbird,”1962. Can this even be debated? The cinema’s most beloved father may always be small town Southern attorney Atticus Finch, a pillar of integrity as portrayed by Gregory Peck in director Robert Mulligan’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” A role model for his children, Finch is morally righteous and sensitive to his daughter Scout’s confusion when he defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. A believable character, yet one refusing to back down or give in to mob violence.

“I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house; and that he’d rather I’d shoot at tin cans in the back yard. But he said that sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted, if I could hit ‘em. But to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird.” — Atticus Finch

“The Godfather,” 1972. Director Francis Ford Coppola’s drama introduces mob boss Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), who steadfastly believes that a man who does not spend time with his family can never be a real man. More, he had hoped to avoid a life of crime for younger son Michael (Al Pacino), a war hero for whom he’d envisioned loftier goals. His disappointment is undeniable when Michael’s actions destroy a father’s dreams. Think, too, of Michael’s struggle to live up to his father’s legacy.

“I never wanted this for you. I work my whole life, I don’t apologize, to take care of my family. And I refused to be a fool dancing on the strings held by all those big shots. That’s my life, I don’t apologize for that. But I always thought that, when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone, something.” — Don Vito Corleone

“Father of the Bride,” 1950. Steve Martin earned more laughs in the 1991 remake, but Spencer Tracy delivered one of his best performances as Stanley Banks, another dad juggling both happiness and sadness before the wedding of his little girl (a young Elizabeth Taylor). The story, directed by Vincente Minnelli, is no more complicated than the relationship between a father and daughter. Tracy wanted Katharine Hepburn to play his wife; Joan Bennett landed the role.

“Who giveth this woman? ‘This woman.’ But she’s not a woman. She’s still a child. And she’s leaving us. What’s it going to be like to come home and not find her? Not to hear her voice … Something inside me began to hurt.” — Stanley Banks

“My Life,” 1993. An underrated gem, directed by Bruce Joel Rubin. Michael Keaton stars as Bob Jones, a father-to-be who is diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer while his wife is pregnant with their son. Realizing he won’t be around to help raise him, Bob’s gift to his son is a series of home movies in which he teaches skills such as how to shave and how to shake hands. Humor is present, as well, as Bob teaches his boy how to cook spaghetti, how to play basketball, how to drive a car and how to use jumper cables.

“No son of mine is going to be called Zack. He’ll get killed at school.” — Bob Jones

Life Is Beautiful,” 1997. The Italian comedic drama, directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, finds him cast as Guido Orefice, a Jewish-Italian bookstore owner who uses his fertile imagination to, as long as humanly possible, convince his young son that they are playing a game, in the process shielding him from the truth after they are imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

“You can lose all your points for any one of three things. One: If you cry. Two: If you ask to see your mother. Three: If you’re hungry and ask for a snack.” — Guido Orefice

“Field of Dreams,” 1989. Director Phil Alden Robinson wisely maintains mystery. Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) clears a corn field so that he can build a baseball diamond — despite always being unsure who “he” is whenever a Voice assures him, “If you build it, he will come.” Tears flow when a story of reconciliation emerges, including a possible do-over with a deceased dad.

“You wanna have a catch?” — Ray Kinsella

“Finding Nemo,” 2003. Andrew Stanton’s prize-winning animated film introduces widower clownfish Marlin, who lost his wife, Coral, and 400 children. Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks) is devoted to his headstrong, sole surviving son, Nemo, to the point of being obviously overprotective. When Nemo is lost, Marlin becomes intent on searching the undersea world, never giving up.

“They’re going to the drop off? What are you, insane? Why don’t we just fry them up now and serve them with chips?” — Marlin

“Mrs Doubtfire,” 1993. Robin Williams portrays actor Daniel Hillard, a dad legally separated from his children in a comedy from director Chris Columbus. But how many in his position would be willing to (cross) dress as British nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire solely for an opportunity to be close to his children and watch them grow, becoming a more devoted father in the process.

“My first day as a woman and I’m getting hot flashes.” — Mrs. Doubtfire

“Boyz ‘N the Hood,” 1991. John Singleton’s debut film remains his most important, a look at South Central LA streets and gang violence between Crips and Bloods. Carrying more weight is wisdom spouted by Furious Styles (played by Laurence Fishburne, billed as Larry) in an effort to teach confused son Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) what it takes to survive and become a real man.

“Why is it that there is a gun shop on every corner in this community? … For the same reason that there is a liquor store on almost every corner in the black community. Why? They want us to kill ourselves.” — Furious Styles

“Captain Fantastic,” 2016. Viggo Mortensen might also be recalled as a nameless, protective father in the futuristic “The Road.” However, director Matt Ross’ “Captain Fantastic” improves with subsequent viewings, and Mortensen shines as Ben Cash, passionately defending his late wife’s final wishes for their six children: Bodevan, Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja and Nai. Disillusioned with capitalism and the American way of life, Ben raises his family off the grid with survivalist skills; all also are educated to think critically, and trained to be physically fit and self-reliant without benefit of technology. Mortensen’s Ben is a dad as loving and caring as he is exasperating, making it even harder for him to let go.

“I tell the truth to my kids. I don’t lie to my kids.” — Ben Cash

Ten different movies with movie dads could include: Dustin Hoffman in “Kramer vs. Kramer,” Tom Hanks in “Road to Perdition,” J.K. Simmons in “Juno,” Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” Mustafa in “The Lion King,” Nicolas Cage in “Raising Arizona,” Michael Keaton in “Mr. Mom,” Sean Connery in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” Albert Finney in Tim Burton’s admittedly strange “Big Fish” — and, for how far he is willing to take fatherhood, Thomas Jane in the startling horror film “The Mist.”